As this point, you could be thinking I have no original plot, but in the first two chapters I only wanted to follow the opening scenes of Destiny Islands as a sort of prologue. Don't flame me for wanting to stay true to the story. :P
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When sunset came to the tiny island, the usual happened. The sun spread its wide fingers through the sea, caressing the ocean and sending waves of slumber to the inhabitants of the small world. Parents called their children home, play was abandoned, and the sky slowly faded into a serene darkness. But for the time being, three children talked of the mundane and gazed silently at the heavens that seemed to be opening just for them.
Sora was splayed over the trunk of the paopu tree. Kairi was next to him. As always, Riku was a little distanced from the two as he stood at the base of the tree with his arms crossed. His brow was furrowed in deep thought. Sora, too, was thinking.
"So…Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" He placed the question into the open silence with delicacy, knowing exactly where its answer could lead.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here." Riku responded, his answer somehow feeling like a punch in the air. Sora tried to take the advantage of the situation and spoke his worries a loud.
"But how far could a raft take us?"
"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else." But Riku didn't sound too sure in his answer. Sora tried to shrug it off; Riku was always standoffish.
"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi laughed her usual light-hearted laugh in the midst of the two doubtful boys. "What would you do there?"
"Hmm...Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku struggled for words. He knew what he felt. He had felt it all his life on Destiny Islands, had felt it in his very bones. "It's just that I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"
Kairi listened with rapt attention. This is what the whole trip has been leading up to, she thought. It's all Riku has ever wanted his whole life. It must plague him day and night. No wonder he's been so quiet lately.
And Riku only continued. "And suppose there are other worlds. Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
Ugh. He's off on one of his rants. Maybe I'll just tune out if it goes on forever. Sora dismissed Riku's theory. "I don't know," he supposed, turning back to his own thoughts, and flipped onto his back.
"Exactly." Riku mused. "That's why we need to go out there and find out! Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff… So let's go." The last words were whispered only loud enough for Riku to hear. He wasn't one to let his emotions show.
Kairi had sighed more than once at Riku's uncanny thoughts and did so again. To herself, of course. She was trying to be supportive.
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Her eyes pierced through Riku as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." He let the statement hang boldly in the air for a moment in the hope that Kairi caught onto the depth of its meaning. "Kairi, thanks." Riku gave up to a smile that played with his eyes.
"Heh...You're welcome." Kairi sputtered back. The conversation moved to the upcoming approach of school. No one wanted to think of losing summer, so they all decided to go home.
Waving, Kairi told the boys to hurry up and ran ahead of them. They both smiled and began to walk after her, too tired to race each other. Sora pulled ahead and Riku took his chance.
"Sora!" Riku quickly threw it and Sora pivoted to face him.
"Wha-?" The fruit dropped easily into his open hands. The naive boy stared questioningly.
"You wanted one, didn't you?" Sora frowned at Riku's remark. He didn't recognize where the situation was headed.
"A paopu fruit.." The fruit itself was a golden star shape with small oval leaves jutting from the top of a point. It had a whimsical air and held sort sort of pull on his emotions. Sora gaped at Riku, then back at the fruit, and then back to Riku again.
Geez, he'll never get if I don't explain it again. Riku took a breath, preparing himself for what might become if Kairi overheard. Sora was a little dim, but she wasn't.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." He advanced towards Sora and passed him up. Again, the boy continued to gawk. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it," he teased, casually dropping a bombshell that could have the potential to split the two friends forever.
"What are you talking— Oh." Now he understood. Sora glared at Riku, watching him laugh. He flushed and hesitantly dropped the fruit over the edge of the bridge into the waves and began to run after Riku, who was now chatting with Kairi as if nothing had ever happened.
Each of the teens returned home carrying a different perspective of the conversation. Each one was skeptical. Each one was worried for the day to come. But the next day did come, and with flourish. The air was hot and muggy, and settled on a body like deadly snake. The sky was a deep blue and the waves moved playfully, inviting everyone for a swim.
Riku stood on the shoreline of the cove around the backside of the island. The wind whipped his silver hair into his face to help mask his troubled appearance. The team was starting off tomorrow and they still needed provisions. Riku had gathered his early in the morning, but would Kairi and Sora be able find enough?
A tap on his shoulder startled him. It was just Sora, smiling one of his cheesy grins. "Mornin'!" He offered and Riku nodded, smiling slightly.
"Hey Sora," Riku contemplated. "Our boat still needs a name. What do you think we should call it?"
"Me? Well...I dunno. Excalibur?" Sora picked randomly, and then laughed at how stupid it sounded.
"Should we- The usual?" The two fit the sentence together as Kairi rounded the boardwalk.
"Are you two at it again? Alright, I'll judge. First one to the star and back again wins. Same old, same old. Blah, blah, blah." Each boy mentally envisioned the route in his head. Down the boardwalk, down the shoreline, past the palm tree, to the ridge...
"If I win," Sora mused, 'Uh, I'm captain! And, if you win--"
"I get to share the paopu with Kairi." Riku's voice had suddenly changed to deep, a sign that he was serious and was not to be taken lightly.
"Huh?" Sora almost jumped back at the thought. What's he going at?
"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi." Riku grinned deviously to himself. The seeds had been planted and he would be the one to reap the benefits.
"Wha-- Wait a minute!" Sora tried to negotiate, but it was too late.
"OK! On my count! 3, 2, 1! GO!" Kairi whistled and the race was on. Sora hadn't been prepared and Riku easily took off, his advantage over Sora was clear.
Even so, the startled boy started. He jumped down to the shoreline and tried to shortcut Riku by running through the water. Soon enough, he was mounting the hill to the palm trees and jumped idly to the star. Where was Riku? He wondered, not even catching sight of him. On his way back Sora didn't spot him either. He rounded the corner back to the ridge above the shore.
"Oh, dammit!" Sora cursed to himself. The vision he saw ahead was of Riku standing next to Kairi and casually talking as if the race had never even taken place. The two heard his approach and turned to laugh at his sullen appearance.
"Too close, Sora!" Riku drawled and Kairi giggled more, running up to Sora and patting him on the back. "One more up for me on the score!"
"Shut up." Sora hissed through clenched teeth as he doubled over to regain his breath. He was sick and tired of Riku's cool demeanor; always winning, always joking, and always just managing to win everybody over.
"Man, lighten up, it's just a name." Riku calmly expressed, standing over Sora passively. Kairi took off down to the raft and Sora glared at Riku when she was gone.
"What do you mean it's just a name?" Sora was livid, yelling as his temper got the best of his emotions. "What the hell did you mean back there when you said--!"
"What's that?" Riku feigned ignorance. "Oh, the paopu thing? It was just a joke. You should've seen your face when I said it, though!"
Sora's face was red; too angry to retort. He stood up quickly and reached for the doorway back to the beach.
Noticing that Sora's anger still hadn't passed over, Riku attempted to cool him down. "Look, do you want to try at another race?"
Sora looked down to hide the rage he felt. "No."
Riku grimaced. "Are you upset or something? It was only a joke."
Sora opened the door with a force to be reckoned with and slammed it shut equally as hard.
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The sun spread her fingers across the water once again. But this night was different. A tinge of salt was in the air, the slight warning of a storm brewing in the weighted air. Riku was prepared. His confidence could not be shattered. Not tonight.
He took off down the dock to find Sora and Kairi sitting side by side at its edge. They were looking at the sunset, each taking in the silence radiance. Riku stepped onto the dock, sending a creak to their ears. They turned around. Both smiled gently and he waved innocently as he dropped something into his boat. His silence gave them an answer: he was leaving. Without sound, Riku jumped into the sand golden with beams from the sunset to unleash his boat and start to row home. He was glad that the wind was veiling his eyes from the paopu fruit in the boat's bottom. A reminder of his only failure.